Things are still looking bad in the world of Mike Mignola and John Arcudi’s B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth. So bad in fact, that humanity, despite its best efforts, is on the brink of total annihilation at the hands -- or tentacles -- of some Lovecraftian horrors. The last few issues of B.P.R.D. have been ruthlessly heavy: Hellboy is in Hell, the B.P.R.D. is fractured with their heavy hitters either on the run or laid up in hospital beds -- like I said, things look bad. But while things may seem hopeless, you better believe the B.P.R.D. aren’t giving up without a fight. Issue #110 kicks off that fight, the moment when humanity stops hiding and starts doing some good ol fashioned monster beating.

Now don’t get me wrong, B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth #110 isn’t all machine guns and bunker busters, this issue on its own is actually fairly slow. Mignola and Arcudi have a gift for building up to rising action while casting a fog-like haze over the future of their key characters. We don’t know what’s going to happen to Liz Sherman, but she seems happy, which in the world of gothic horror comics is never a good thing. As the reader we know this: happiness equals ten-fold tragedy down the line. We’ve been trained to understand this while consuming horror media, Mignola and Arcudi know we know this, and thus, tension is built.

If you’ve been reading B.P.R.D. religiously then you’re going to pick this issue up, you’d be crazy not to. For the new reader, however, this would be a strong jumping on point for this series. Issue #110 starts the “Lake Of Fire” five-issue run while doing an adequate job of introducing key characters and the story so far.

This is a massive project Mignola, Arcudi and artist Tyler Crook have launched. They’ve literally destroyed the world, now it’s time to put it back together. The war rages on and somewhere in the shadows the worst is yet to come. Hop on now before it’s too late to see it.

When compared to the wise-cracking, demon-crunching bravado of Hellboy, Abe Sapien has always seemed slightly boring. The B.P.R.D agent isn't physically imposing and more often than not, Abe is lamenting over some great emotional trauma. This in contrast to Hellboy's nonstop physical destruction (to himself or something evil), has positioned poor Abe directly in the big red shadow of, well, Big Red. Abe Sapien #1 aims to correct this grievance by shining the spotlight right on Abe's fishy countenance. The result, due in part to dense dialogue, is achingly slow.

Abe Sapien #1 is shaping up to be the end all origin story for the veteran B.P.R.D agent. From his first appearance in the pages of Hellboy, we've wanted to know more about Abe. Sadly, Mike Mignola has kept the lid fairly tight on Abe's dark past. This issue unfold in a series of conversations that act as an intro to new readers and a context provider for Abe's sudden disappearance. However, when you know monsters are destroying the world, the last thing you want to read is a comic full of dialogue.

Artist Sebastian Fiumara illustrates Abe Sapien #1 with a rough style that blends beautifully within the world of B.P.R.D. Monstrous abominations split, ooze and slither stunningly under this artist's pen.

Abe Sapien #1 is slow, but if future issues can avoid the glacial pacing and deliver what they promise, this series could put Abe among the must-read piles of every diehard B.P.R.D fan.

B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth #105: A Cold Day In Hell is a welcome return back to the nightmarish events transpiring back on Mike Mignola and John Arcudi’s Earth. Across the globe things look bad, really bad. The no longer comatose Abe Sapien has disappeared, Lovecraftian monsters ravage Earth and the director of Russia’s occult division has a problem on his hands -- a radio tower is malfunctioning in remote Russian territory. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but as later issues will surely illustrate, ugly things are just over the horizon.

It’s tempting to fault these writers for not tossing readers right into the action that Return of the Master left off on. But the truth is, the tension this book builds is staggeringly scary. B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth #105 is the slow burn just before the whole thing goes up in a conflagration of hellfire and brimstone.

Artist Peter Snejbjerg is back among the pages of B.P.R.D and his seasoned time with this universe shines through. From the claustrophobic corners of an isolated radio station to cities crumbling under the claws of monsters, this book’s art screams inescapable horror.

If you’ve been keeping up with B.P.R.D. then you know things are about to get bad, which for us, the reader, is good news. Mignola, Arcudi and Snejbjerg, like any great horror team, thrive when crafting unimaginable terror -- something this book has in spades.

When it comes from the pages of Hellboy or the mind of Mike Mignola, you’re pretty much guaranteed a fair amount of Nazi busting. Sledgehammer 44 #1 is really no exception. From the book’s opening pages, Nazis, in their never ending quest to wreck havoc, are blown to bits like so much cannon fodder. However, while Sledgehammer 44 #1 could have easily been just a cathartic exercise in SS-smashing, Mike Mignola and John Arcudi instead have weaved together a surprisingly intimate origin story.

It’s a tricky situation when a comic doesn’t deliver what you expected yet gives you something comparable only less violence-driven. Sledgehammer 44 #1 starts with a bang, but quickly fizzles out into a slow-paced tale of camaraderie so often found in WW2 stories. Arcudi and Mignola craft dialogue with the grace and style of two writers deeply in love with the era their characters inhabit. As the titular Sledgehammer goes down, it’s the flesh and blood soldiers that truly make this comic shine.

Artist Jason Latour of Captain America fame delivers a knockout performance as only a man who has spent his career artistically kicking the tar out of Nazis could. Panels race from grim corridors to exploding storefronts in a flash carrying this comic along like a rocket sled even in its more docile moments.

Sledgehammer 44 #1 is a solid introduction to one of Mignola’s newer creations. Although not as action-packed as some would hope, this book has heart beating from within its metal chest plate.